Industry benchmarks

Manual medical
chronology benchmarks

Industry benchmarks for manual medical chronology review: time, cost, and labor estimates built from cited public sources. This page documents the manual-review baseline that Chronos is built to improve.

Read this first. This page documents the manual-side baseline — the time, cost, and labor required for traditional medical chronology review. All figures are built from cited public industry sources. Chronos measured performance data will be published separately once a statistically significant sample is complete.
// Executive summary

The manual chronology baseline

Producing a medical chronology by hand is one of the most time-consuming steps in a personal-injury or medical-malpractice case. A single case can span a few hundred to several thousand pages, and published estimates put experienced manual review at roughly 50 pages per hour for clean records — so a mid-sized case can absorb 10, 20, or more hours of skilled paralegal time before a usable timeline exists.

Using a representative 750-page case, a 50 pages/hour manual review speed, and a $45/hour loaded internal cost, the manual path models out to roughly 15 hours and ~$675 per case in labor — before turnaround delay.

Bottom line: The manual cost and turnaround of medical chronologies is real, sourced, and large. This baseline represents the problem Chronos is built to address. Measured Chronos performance data will be published when a statistically significant sample is available.

// Methodology

Inputs & assumptions

A transparent estimating model. Each variable is either a cited industry figure or a labeled assumption, grounded in public sources.

Modeled inputs and assumptions, with type and source basis.
VariableValueTypeBasis / source
Representative case size750 pagesAssumption (editable)PI/med-mal cases commonly run hundreds to several thousand pages.
Manual review & summary speed50 pages/hrCited industry estimateExperienced reviewers ~50 pages/hr on clear records; slower for handwritten/complex.
Reviewer loaded internal cost$45/hrDerived from cited wageBLS mean paralegal wage ~$32/hr (May 2024), grossed up for benefits + overhead.
Reviewer billing rate (alt. view)$100/hrCited industry rangeLitigation paralegal billing commonly $75–$120/hr.
Productive hours per working day6 hrsAssumptionRealistic task-focused hours, not an 8-hour clock.
// Formulas
Manual hours        = pages ÷ manual speed
Manual labor cost   = manual hours × hourly cost
Manual turnaround   = manual hours ÷ productive hours/day

What this model does NOT do

  • It does not assert a fixed "% time saved" as fact.
  • It does not measure Chronos accuracy, completeness, or quality.
  • It does not account for record retrieval, legibility variance, or case-specific complexity beyond page count and speed.
  • It assumes a single reviewer and a linear page-rate; real workflows vary.
// Manual baseline

Manual review costs by case size

Manual review baseline across case sizes

Manual hours, cost (internal & billed), and turnaround by case size, built from cited industry figures.
Case sizeManual hours (@50 pg/hr)Cost @ $45/hr (internal)Cost @ $100/hr (billed)Turnaround (@6 hr/day)
300 pages6.0 hrs$270$600~1.0 day
750 pages15.0 hrs$675$1,500~2.5 days
1,500 pages30.0 hrs$1,350$3,000~5.0 days
3,000 pages60.0 hrs$2,700$6,000~10.0 days

This table uses only cited and derived figures (speed, rates) from public industry sources. It shows the size of the manual baseline that Chronos is built to improve.

// Manual cost scales with case size
// Read honestly

Caveats

  1. Manual speed varies widely. 50 pages/hr is a clean-record estimate. Handwritten notes, poor scans, and multi-provider records can cut that in half or worse — which would increase modeled manual cost, not decrease it.
  2. Page counts are case-specific. We used 750 as representative; many cases are far larger. The cost calculator lets readers substitute their own volume.
  3. Cost basis matters. Internal loaded cost (~$45/hr) and client billing rate ($75–$120+/hr) tell different stories; we show both.
  4. Quality is not modeled here. Time and cost are only part of the picture. A chronology must be accurate and attorney-ready; this data focuses on the manual baseline only.
  5. No PHI / case data informed this report. All figures are aggregate industry numbers and assumptions.
// Citations

Sources

  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Paralegals and Legal Assistants (May 2024: median ~$61,010/yr ≈ $29.33/hr; mean ~$31.98/hr). Occupational Outlook Handbook · OEWS detail
  2. Paralegal billing-rate guidance (litigation paralegals ~$75–$120/hr; non-lawyer rates averaged ~$193/hr in 2024 per NALA data). Clio — A Guide to Paralegal Billing · CosmoLex billing guidance
  3. Medical-record review speed — experienced reviewers ~50 pages/hr (clear records); chronologies often 8–20+ paralegal hours. LezDo TechMed · Medical Records Review
  4. AI medical-chronology vendor time-savings claims (cited as third-party vendor claims, not verified): minutes-to-hours vs. 20–80 hrs manual. GetCodes Health · EvenUp MedChrons · Superinsight
  5. Record-volume context — PI/med-mal cases span hundreds to several thousand pages. U.S. Legal Support · EvenUp guide
  6. Per-page and per-hour pricing context — AI/outsourced per-page ~$0.05–$0.25/page; hourly chronology services ~$25–$35/hr. LezDo TechMed pricing · MedSum Legal

All figures retrieved June 2026. Industry sources describe general market conditions for manual medical chronology review. Chronos measured performance data will be published separately once a statistically significant sample is available.

// FAQ

Common questions

Methodology note. This report documents the manual review baseline, built from cited public industry figures. The formulas are published so anyone can reproduce the outputs. For an estimate based on your own firm's numbers, use our medical chronology cost calculator.

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